Backcountry Hells Bay Chickee — Everglades National Park

We paddled out to Hells Bay Chickee on kayaks rented from Flamingo Adventures on March 5th. The weather was ideal, high 81, low 65, sunny, wind at 6 mph. We launched at 10 am and returned at 11 am the next day. It’s the dry season, so there weren’t many bugs. The mosquitos came out at dusk and we just hid in our tent, didn’t even use bug spray. There were a few horseflies on the paddle out which we dutifully killed. There were also very few animals, we saw some birds and fish, but not a sighting of anything else, I was expecting to see more, maybe a snake or something. The mangroves themselves are lovely, with the low winds, the water was like glass and the reflections made floating in them seem even more surreal. I liked seeing all the air plants/epiphytes blooming this time of year. We’re couch-to-kayak, average fitness level, and it took us 4 hours to do the paddle each way. In hindsight, for a couple of reasons, I wish we had stayed at Pearl Bay Chickee instead. The first reason is that they rebuilt the platform using a metal grate and it was uncomfortable to sleep on because we didn’t bring thick enough mattress pads, so we barely got any sleep. The second is that Pearl Bay is closer to the trailhead. I would have felt satisfied with a 3-hour paddle for our fitness level and travel purposes. We also got charged another day for the kayak rental because we couldn’t return them within 24 hours, so we paid $365 dollars for renting two single kayaks, which feels steep for an overnight camping excursion. Besides the price, it was a good experience and I’m glad we did it. It’s hard to be angry while kayaking, so I came back feeling relaxed and accomplished. Though the first mile is a bit frustrating because the channels aren’t wide enough to make a full kayak stroke, so you’re whacking mangrove roots the whole way.